Police Unload International Network Of Trafficking In Persons To Bahrain

ILLUSTRATION OF DOK VOI

JAKARTA - The Directorate of Crimes for the Protection of Women and Children (Dittipid PPA) of the National Police Criminal Investigation Unit dismantled the international network of criminal acts of trafficking in persons (TPPO). The network illegally sent Indonesian migrant workers to Bahrain.

"This case was revealed after a report from a victim who worked in Bahrain as an attendant spa. The victim was initially promised a job as a hotel waitress and homekeeping by the perpetrator, but the reality was not in accordance with what was promised," said Head of Sub-Directorate III of the Directorate of PPA and PPO, Kombes Amingga in his statement, Tuesday, February 25.

Three people were named as suspects in the TIP case with the initials SG, RH, and NH. They have different roles.

For the suspect SG, he played a role in connecting with the employer in Bahrain and receiving money from the victim. Then, RH and NH who are directors and STD LPK who take care of the issuance of the victim's passport, accommodate the victim's money, and direct the departure process.

Based on the results of the examination and deepening, the suspects recruited victims with the mode through the Job Training Institute (LPK) which offered jobs in Bahrain.

Then, the interested victim was asked to pay a departure fee of Rp. 15 million. If the perpetrator has been paid directly, various documents, such as passports, visas, and plane tickets to dispatch the victim.

In addition, Amingga also said that this network had been operating since 2022 and made a profit of up to hundreds of millions of rupiah.

"We continue to develop this case and work with PPATK to track the flow of funds from the suspects. We are also coordinating with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Police Divhubinter to uncover networks located abroad," he said.

From the hands of the suspects, various evidences were confiscated, including six passports, six visas, six work contracts, three mobile phones, one laptop, two savings books, four ATMs, and six bundles of bank statements.

The three suspects were charged with Article 4 of Law Number 21 of 2007 concerning the Eradication of TIP, with a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a fine of up to Rp600 million. They were also subject to Article 81 and Article 86 letter (c) of Law Number 18 of 2017 concerning the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers, whose penalty is up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to Rp15 billion.